namespace SharpChat.Configuration;

public interface Config {
    /// <summary>
    /// Creates a proxy object that forces all names to start with the given prefix.
    /// </summary>
    Config ScopeTo(string prefix);

    /// <summary>
    /// Reads a raw (string) value from the config.
    /// </summary>
    string? ReadValue(string name, string? fallback = null);

    /// <summary>
    /// Reads and casts value from the config.
    /// </summary>
    /// <exception cref="ConfigTypeException">Type conversion failed.</exception>
    T? ReadValue<T>(string name, T? fallback = default);

    /// <summary>
    /// Reads and casts a value from the config. Returns fallback when type conversion fails.
    /// </summary>
    T? SafeReadValue<T>(string name, T? fallback);

    /// <summary>
    /// Creates an object that caches the read value for a certain amount of time, avoiding disk reads for frequently used non-static values.
    /// </summary>
    CachedValue<T> ReadCached<T>(string name, T? fallback = default, TimeSpan? lifetime = null);
}